Sports

NJ Officials: Ready For Super Bowl, Await Forecast

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - Officials at New Jersey’s sports authority say they’re got everything ready for next month’s Super Bowl – now, all they need is an accurate weather forecast so they can focus on which contingency plan to use.

On Thursday the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority held its final pre-Super Bowl meeting at the Meadowlands as workmen continued erecting massive tents in and around the complex.

The Feb. 2 Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium will be the first played outdoors in a cold-weather location. Its success, or lack thereof, will go a long way in determining whether the NFL awards the game to another cold-weather city without a domed stadium.

Sports authority chairman Wayne Hasenbalg said contingency plans are in place for all types of weather- and non-weather-related problems. He says he’s waiting until Monday, when a seven-day forecast will give a better idea of what type of weather is expected for the beginning of Super Bowl week.

“For us, it’s not just the game – we’re starting on Monday, and at that point the forecasting should give us a good idea,” Hasenbalg said.

Representatives of the four conference championships finalists have already visited the Meadowlands to review the site, Hasenbalg said. San Francisco and Seattle face off in the NFC championship and New England plays Denver in the AFC title game, both on Sunday.

A sunny day in the 40s will only take off some of the pressure. There’s the challenge of moving an expected hundreds of thousands of people around the New York-New Jersey area during the week and on game day.

All possibilities have been considered, Hasenbalg said. For example, extra tow trucks will be at the ready on roads surrounding the Meadowlands in case of accidents that could throw game-day traffic into gridlock.